One of the strongest earthquakes to hit the Caribbean in modern times struck off the coast of Honduras yesterday, setting off tsunami warnings for several destinations including the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico.
The tsunami warning was canceled after about an hour.
The magnitude 7.8 quake struck about 125 miles north of Honduras and shook the mainland, but there were no early reports of serious damage or casualties.
Officials in Honduras said buildingswere rattled across much of the nation and there were some reports of cracks in homes in Colon and Atlantida provinces along the northern coast and Olancho in eastern Honduras.
The northern coastline of Honduras closest to the quake’s epicenter is sparsely population and is instead mostly made up of nature reserves.
"We have reports that it was felt in the majority of the country, but we don’t have reports of damage," said Lizandro Rosales, director of Honduras’ contingencies commission.
